


Flowers (can i be yours)

by coupe_de_foudre



Series: Joshler One-Shots [2]
Category: Twenty One Pilots
Genre: Cute Tyler Joseph, Flowers, Fluff, Fluffy Ending, Josh Dun is a Softie, Josh Dun is a Sweetheart, Josh Dun/Tyler Joseph One Shot, Josh is Great at Gardening, M/M, Minor Character Death, Sad Tyler Joseph, Sad with a Happy Ending
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-03
Updated: 2018-09-03
Packaged: 2019-07-06 13:39:59
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,279
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15887157
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/coupe_de_foudre/pseuds/coupe_de_foudre
Summary: Tyler really didn't think anybody would notice one missing flower each week, not when there were so many already. Apparently, Tyler misjudged Josh's love of his flowers.





	Flowers (can i be yours)

**Author's Note:**

> I kinda like this one :) I got the idea from awful-aus on Tumblr. Title inspired by Flowers by The Neighbourhood (great band!)
> 
> Please comment if you enjoyed it! Sorry if it causes any tears XD I definitely shed a few writing it.
> 
> I take requests btw! Also, thank you so much to everyone who commented and read my last Joshler one-shot, y'all are the best!!
> 
> Happy reading, snowflakes <3

A gentle breeze accompanied Tyler as he walked down the quiet street, his house shrinking in the distance behind him. For mid-September it wasn’t exactly cold. Wearing just a black hoodie – strings loose and mangled from age – and jeans, he was comfortable enough.

The streets of Columbus were particularly empty this Sunday afternoon; they usually were since most people chose to stay home if they didn’t have work or church. It was one of the reasons that Tyler chose Sundays to go out.

Tyler didn’t go to church anymore – not since she left. He couldn’t stand the pitying looks sent his way from the other church members so, now, he preferred to converse with God in the comfort of his own home where he knew that nobody could judge him or think differently of him.

There was a house he would pass every Sunday. He didn’t know who lived there – maybe a family enjoying their happily-ever-after, a young couple or perhaps just a lonely old person? In all honesty, Tyler tried not to think too much about it.

All he knew was that they had a special talent in gardening or (to be more specific) in growing beautiful flowers. The lawn in front of that particular house was always adorned with fresh, colourful flowers. They used to make Tyler smile as he walked by, a sign of life in such a simplistic way. 

He’d taken one the first time he’d walked by, a beautifully crafted rose, its petals furled smoothly and letting off such a sweet scent that Tyler couldn’t not smile as he breathed it in. It reminded him of her. She’d had a perfume similar to that – fresh cut roses, dewy grass and a subtle hint of honey.

Tyler hoped that the owner wouldn’t mind him taking this one flower.

Fifteen minutes later, Tyler was standing before the cold iron gates of his local cemetery, row upon row of graves lined up like soldiers preparing for battle. It was ironic, really, Tyler thought; these people had already finished their battles.

Taking the short walk through the cemetery, down the path that lead to her, Tyler clutched tightly onto the rose in his hand, trying to ignore the sharp pain of the thorns that were now digging into his exposed skin.

Finally, he arrived.

It didn’t matter how many times he saw the dull grey stone, her name engraved into it in that same bold writing that looked nothing like her cursive handwriting did, Tyler would always get the same overwhelming flood of dread and heartbreak. He lied, telling anyone who asked that he was okay. He was doing fine, was what he would always say, the words falling from his lips as naturally as his own name does. 

It didn’t matter anyway, he thought bitterly, because how he was feeling wouldn’t bring her back. Nothing would.

Choking back a sob as he lowered himself down onto the damp grass in front of the gravestone, Tyler tried to smile. He carefully laid the rose by the foot of the grave, smoothing out one of the petals which had bent due to how he’d held it close to him on the walk down.

“Hi mom.” he said, voice low and weak, wiping a stray tear from his cheek before it had the chance to drop to the floor. 

That had been a few months back. Tyler still visited his mom every Sunday, taking the same route to the cemetery as he always would. He’d bring her a flower every week too, a bright, fresh flower from the same garden as the very first rose. He wouldn’t say that he was stealing them, per se, although many would probably disagree with him. 

It wasn’t like there weren’t enough flowers in the garden, though. He was sure that the owner wouldn’t miss one singular flower.

Tyler convinced himself that every Sunday as he plucked a flower from its bed, carrying it down to his mother’s grave where he would replace the wilting flower from the week before.

This Sunday however, things didn’t run as smoothly.

Tyler was just about to continue his walk to the cemetery, the stem of the wonderfully yellow tulip balancing nicely in his hoodie’s pocket, when the front door of the very house he was stood in front of opened. Instinctively, Tyler’s head shot up, eyes falling on the person now stood in the doorway.

He wasn’t sure if it was due to nerves or the fact that the person his eyes landed on was (to put it frankly) ruggedly handsome, but Tyler’s heart definitely skipped a beat. He didn’t say anything, didn’t even dare move, as the person began walking towards him with their eyes not leaving Tyler’s stare.

The man approaching him smiled, a warm smile that Tyler supposed was meant to reassure him. But Tyler couldn’t smile back, fingers grasping at the tulip in his pocket nervously. He had shockingly bright red hair, a canvas of colourful tattoos covering one arm and a lip piercing that caught the suns light every now and then as he walked.

“Hi,” the stranger spoke, voice smooth as butter and deep in a way that caused a shiver to run down Tyler’s spine, his mind short-circuiting. 

“H-Hi.” Tyler mimicked. The stranger then held out his hand for Tyler to shake, which he did after wiping his clammy palm on the front of his jeans.

“I’m Josh, I don’t believe we’ve actually met before.” The man, Josh, continued. Tyler just hummed in response, not trusting himself to reply with his own name for fear of making a fool of himself. If this guy was going to ask for his flower back, could he just hurry up already and let Tyler go? 

Josh’s smile only widened at the obvious uneasiness Tyler was feeling, and he held his hands up in a mock surrender with a wicked glint in his eyes. “Don’t worry, man, I’m not gonna shout at you for taking my tulip. Or my rose, or my daisy or my dahlia.”

Tyler’s eyes widened at the added sentence, mouth dropping open as though he was about to explain himself when he realised he didn’t know what to say. Did that mean that Josh seriously knew about him taking his flowers all along, for months now, and hadn’t said anything? Why?

“Dude, don’t look so frightened.” Josh spoke, his caramel-smooth voice managing to ease Tyler’s nerves just slightly. “Though I think I should get to come with you to see if this girl is pretty enough to warrant flower theft.” 

The smirk on Josh’s lips was enough to bring Tyler to his knees, had the situation been different. But since he always seemed to be landed with bad luck, Tyler was instead left stammering over his words in a hopeless explanation. “I-I, uh, no…You, you can’t…You see…I-”

Josh laughed, a boisterous sound full of life and Tyler just wanted to smile. Gently hitting Tyler’s shoulder, Josh smirked down at him again. “Hey, man, don’t worry; I won’t steal her from you.” And before Tyler could stop him, Josh was grabbing his arm and dragging him down the street. “In fact, I’d much rather be stealing you from her.”

Tyler felt his cheeks heat up, undoubtedly flushed a red bright enough to match Josh’s hair, and he knew he couldn’t blame that on the muggy air of the late Sunday afternoon. Any other time, Tyler would happily have corrected Josh; letting him know that he much preferred the latter idea to the former, but unfortunately Tyler couldn’t find the courage to speak.

How had he managed to get himself wrapped up in this situation?

For the next ten minutes or so, Tyler was wracking his brains for a way to break it to Josh that they were on their way to a graveyard. He’d occasionally hummed in response to Josh’s teasing remarks about Tyler’s so called ‘girlfriend’ – whether she was hot, if she was good in bed (apparently she must be for Tyler to always go to such trouble every Sunday) and other ridiculous things that Tyler really just wanted to laugh at.

Josh had been walking besides him, arms swinging at his sides and a carefree smile on his lips, seemingly unbothered by the fact that he barely knew Tyler and that Tyler had been stealing his flowers. Tyler didn’t even believe that Josh cared about meeting this ‘girl’; he just seemed to be the sort of person that enjoyed making friends and being outside.

It wasn’t until they arrived by the all too familiar iron gates, open as usual to reveal the army of lost spirits, that Josh’s smile faltered.

Tyler had stopped walking now, watching Josh carefully. Josh glanced down at Tyler, something unrecognisable in his eyes as he scanned over Tyler’s solemn face, his smile now completely faded away into the past and replaced by a sorrowful frown that Tyler thought didn’t suit him at all. And all of a sudden, Tyler felt guilty. He felt guilty for bringing Josh here instead of just apologising and returning the tulip, because now Josh was upset and that had been the last thing Tyler had wanted to do. 

He’d just wanted the company, despite being unsure at first. Josh was good company and that was what Tyler needed on days like today.

“Shit, man, I’m so fucking sorry.” Josh said, his voice suddenly breaking through the heavy silence that hung between the two.

Tyler shook his head; Josh wasn’t to know. “I-It’s okay.”

Josh looked like he wanted to argue against Tyler’s words but he seemed to think better of it, instead taking Tyler’s hand in his own warm grasp (something so unexpected that Tyler let out a faint squeal) and tugging on his arm as he began walking into the cemetery.

Tyler didn’t need to be told what to do, following Josh’s steps and then leading them both through the same maze of graves until he found his mother’s, Josh’s hand not leaving his own. The newfound warmth caused a tiny unfamiliar smile to pull at the corners of his bitten and chapped lips.

Stopping in front of his mother’s grave, Tyler bent down and placed Josh’s tulip on the dewy grass, raindrops from last night’s rainfall still clinging to the green blades. Josh watched his movements, silent, and then his eyes fell over the name engraved in the dull stone.

‘Kelly Joseph’

Tyler mouthed the following words as Josh read them, knowing them off by heart. 

‘Beloved wife and a mother of four, Kelly was sadly taken from us too soon. She will be missed dearly.’

Tyler quickly brought his free hand up to brush away the expected tears, sniffling into his hoodie sleeve. Josh turned to look at him, his fingers squeezing Tyler’s hand reassuringly. “Fuck, man, I’m such an idiot. I didn’t even think.” he said, remorse clear in his voice.

Tyler couldn’t take it, the look in Josh’s eyes was so full of sympathy yet Josh didn’t even know Tyler and he certainly hadn’t known his mom. His strong façade cracked, watery eyes holding onto Josh’s caring gaze and he broke – tears flooding from his eyes, the damn finally gone, and streaming down his face. He lunged forward, burying his face into Josh’s chest, soaking his tank top, but Tyler couldn’t even bring himself to care once he felt Josh’s arms wrap around him and hold him closer, fingers tracing through his unruly brown hair.

The rush of emotions that Tyler was feeling was unnatural to him, someone who had learnt to push his emotions away because they were too much to deal with. Now here Tyler was, stood in the arms of a practical stranger, sobbing his heart out and clinging to this person like they were his lifeline. 

Taking in a deep breath, Tyler closed his eyes, his tears slowing. Josh was running his hands over his back soothingly, whispering nonsensical things into his hair in an attempt to calm him. It pulled at Tyler’s heart.

The way in which Josh was holding him, his body heat warming Tyler up, the oddly soothing aroma of cigarette smoke, mint and honey filling Tyler’s breath – it all seemed to remind him of his mother, in a way, but yet it was also different somehow. The gentle pat on the head, the low voice and look in his eyes set Josh apart, and it made Tyler want to get to know this man better, because he was remarkable.

“It’s going to be okay,” Josh mumbled into Tyler’s hair, sending a small shiver down his back, “I’m here now.”

And he was, he really was. Josh didn’t leave, he didn’t pretend that nothing was wrong and he didn’t expect Tyler to be happy from then on – but Josh was there, every day and night that followed and Tyler couldn’t thank him enough. He didn’t know how it happened, but over the months and years that came after that Sunday afternoon Tyler and Josh slipped into a comfortable relationship. Tyler found out that Josh wasn’t as happy as he had seemed either but that was okay because they had each other now.

Tyler never had to visit his mother alone again. Josh accompanied him every Sunday, carefully picking the best flower from his garden to leave by her grave and then walking home hand in hand, making plans for the upcoming week or simply picking up a takeaway for dinner. Tyler didn’t think he’d ever been happier.

Who would have guessed that stolen flowers for his mother would lead to his very own happily-ever-after?


End file.
